Skiers can be seen coming down the mountain from the dining area at Wilmot Mountain Ski Resort Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016, in Wilmot, Wis. The Colorado-based company Vail Resorts recently purchased Wilmot. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune)

Sharise Campbell, left, and Nemanja Uzelac, both of Chicago, look at a phone at they sit by the fire at Wilmot Mountain Ski Resort Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016, in Wilmot, Wis. The Colorado-based company Vail Resorts recently purchased Wilmot. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune)

Colorado-based company Vail Resorts recently purchased the tiny Wilmot Mountain Ski Resort just over the Illinois border in Wisconsin, and plans to make renovations to the lifts, terrain park and lodge, as well as improve snow-making conditions. Wilmot Mountain was created by Walter Stopa, who had a million cubic yards of dirt trucked into the Wisconsin cow pasture to create the slope 80 years ago. It's a popular place for Chicagoans who ski and snowboard - one of the only options in the Chicago area.